We are a small retail business with about 12 employees and currently use a bespoke system for Sales/Purchases and Sage Line 50 for accounts. Recently Navision has been brought to our attention. Can anyone point out the major Good Points and Bad Points of a move to Navision.
Hi Well the first major point is you will have a fully integrated system. The benefits here are major. Lots of other gains will be made I am sure from an integrated system but this will depend upon teh nature of your business and processes. As examples I am aware that Sage Line 50 struggles with scalability of more than 10 concurrent users (apologies if my data here is not accurate, there are from memory!) Navision does not. Additionally I believe Navision has better location and currency handling than Sage Line 50, but these may not be appropriate to you. With regards to one good point is the ability to easily develop Navision to meet the specific needs and nuances of your business, although some will argue that this is a bad point. In my opinion it is only a bad point if the controls are not in place. If you need anything else feel free to get in contact, and of course if you need a demonstration I am sure that could be forthcoming as well [:D]
Hi! I would just like to second Steven’s thoughts. One thing to concider is that you Navision installation will only be as good as the NSC that puts it in. I would suggest the following:
- Go to a reseller who will produce some pre-sales analysis or a diagnostic to see if Navision suits your business needs before seeling you a licence. It is as much not in their best interests to sell you Navision if it does not suit you, as it is in yours.
- Ask the NSC for references and ask if you can visit the reference customers to see Navision in action.
- Visit the NSC’s offices and meet the people to get a feel of what they are like.
Good luck!
Certainly within the UK you have a wide choice of options of who to buy Navision from, so if you choose Navision, follow all of Edward’s advice, and if you do not buy Navision, still follow all of Edward’s advice if you buy something else [:D].
I am not sure at your size whether Navision is suitable, how many people will actually use Navision, what are your retails avenues and what growth prospects due you see. The cost may put you off, software and hardware, but look long-term. However if you like bespoked software I think Navision is excellent for this and once the data is in properly, reports can easily be modified by the end user without the cost of going back to the NSC (get them to write a few complicated ones). Apart from the ease of modifications, the product is fully integrated allowing you room for as much growth as you good imagine from your position, is solid and stable.